user
Write a response that appropriately completes the request.

### Instruction:
What is the setting of the novel Heart of Darkness?

### Response:
assistant
Heart of Darkness is set in the late 19th-century Congo Free State during the period of European imperialism. It tells the story of Marlow, a seaman and wanderer recounting his physical and psychological journey up the Congo River in search of the infamous ivory trader Kurtz.